Sri Lanka’s President turns to promoting tourism in Batticaloa.
Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe has held a discussion recently at the President’s office in a bid to identify land to promote the tourism industry in the Batticaloa District in the country’s Eastern Province.
The discussion chaired by the President had engaged in the identification of coastal lands that belong to the Government and private sector operators from Verugal Aru to Batticaloa in the Batticaloa District was taken up for discussion.
The President had noted that the aim was to develop the area as a tourist zone and make Batticaloa one of the top tourist destinations in 2023.
Several Divisional Secretaries including Batticaloa District Secretary K. Karunaharan had reportedly joined this discussion through the Zoom platform.
Secretary to the President Saman Ekanayake, Senior Advisor to the President on National Security and Chief of Staff to the President Sagala Ratnayaka, Senior Economic Advisor to the President Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga, Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism and Lands W.A. Chulananda Perera, Secretary to the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation R.M.C.M. Herath, and heads of line institutions had also participated in this discussion.
OSL take:
The government of Sri Lanka has placed much emphasis on the uplifting and development of the country’s tourism industry given that it is a key revenue generators of the country. The tourism industry was one of the main revenue generators until it was affected by the global pandemic. However, the industry is once again on the path to recovery with a steady growth in tourist arrivals to the country. Sri Lanka’s tourism authorities are also engaged in promoting the sector in key foreign source markets. The country has also gained much publicity in the international media as a must visit tourist destination. It is in such a backdrop that local authorities are looking at exploring new tourist attractions as well as concepts to attract tourists. The authorities have also allocated many lands for potential businesses/investors of Sri Lanka’s tourism industry. Given the business and growth potential of Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, foreign businesses/investors could confidently explore the expanding business/investment opportunities in the sector.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/28122022/AT_1 |